From RE families and helpers letter for Friday Feb 18th

Dear RE folks --Here’s a couple of chewy thoughts which I hope you’ll find interesting:
First: Today I was “outed” at the Midweek Meal by a senior church member who thought everyone should know I am the parent of Richard Reed Parry, member of the award-winning band, the Arcade Fire, so I thought I’d tell all of you . . .yep, it’s true, exciting, and rather strange. [thanks to all those who sent congrats].
On the one hand, we all naturally take pleasure in the successes of our children, but on the other hand, I really question our celebrity culture. I keep being amazed by people’s “awe” and wondering why we can’t be as enthusiastic about different achievements or even non-capital-A achievements. For instance, I really love our unsung hero/heroine awards here at UCM. I don’t have a lot of answers to my ponderings, though of course I am proud of the boy who was terrified to audition for music at Canterbury, the Ottawa arts high school, so did creative writing instead . . . And I know I did a lot to nurture his creative spirit, as I see many of you doing as loving parents or partners or buddies here, too. So I salute all of you, sitting perhaps with a homework-overwhelmed or coughing and wheezing child, or a friend who is upset and needs your support. Know that your patience, love, and encouragement DO make significant differences in the world, and that we ALL deserve Grammys!

Second: when I was in Ottawa last week, I did something that I thought would be very challenging and not very pleasant –I went to see my MP, who happens to be the Conservative John Baird whom I dislike, about problems with the new draft Copyright law, as seen from the Writers Union perspective. To my surprise, he was receptive and not only asked intelligent questions, but affirmed the effort I had made to go into the Parliament buildings and meet with him. I think he listened to our points, and I felt energized, in the end, NOT drained by doing my “duty” as a citizen. Apparently, these days, visits count for a heck of a lot (as letters sent electronically mean less and less). So I want to lift up the worth of that simple bit of the political process, and if you are thinking about working on some piece of social/political change yourself, I encourage you to GO SEE your MP!